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Mailman Save
Location: Redlands, California Date: December 18, 1985 Story There's no feeling more helpless than being unable to come to the aid of a loved one in need as Heidi Nunez discovered on December 18, 1985, near her home in Redlands, California. She was on her way to pick up her 5-year-old daughter, Andrea, at school. She was five months pregnant with her third child and had her 2-year-old son, Matthew, in his car seat in the back. "I pulled up alongside the curb and left the car running because the starter was bad, and sometimes if you shut the car off, it wouldn't always start up again," said Heidi. She thought Matthew would be okay because he was in his car seat. As soon as Heidi left, Matthew unbuckled the seat belt that held his car seat down and went up front. "I was waiting for my mom to pick me up and she came across the street and picked me up by the playground," said Andrea. Matthew started playing with the gearshift when suddenly it moved, putting the car in gear. Just as Heidi and Andrea were about to reach the car, it started moving really fast down the street. Heidi screamed and started running for it. Her first reaction was to just go after it to see if she could catch it, but she couldn't. "The faster I ran, the faster the car was going and I thought, 'God, if there is a God, please make my legs run faster.'" Matthew started crying as the car went further away. It started heading toward houses and was out of control. "I thought, 'Dear God, I know he's going to die,'" recalls Heidi. Meanwhile, mailman Alex Bordeaux had just begun his daily routine; he heard a crash and saw Heidi's car pop out of a neighbor's yard. He also heard Matthew screaming, dropped his mail, and started running for it. "The boy was standing on the front seat so there was that thought that if I'm not able to stop it, this car's going to hit whatever it hits. Be in a car, be in a house, that kid could fly through the windshield. And something in my mind told me that I was the only one there that could do something," he said. The car was quickly approaching a busy intersection less than 100 feet ahead. Alex ran as fast as he could to the runaway car and finally reached it, stopping it in the nick of time. When he managed to bring it to a stop, it was just twenty feet short of the intersection, but both he and Matthew were unharmed. Alex grabbed Matthew, who was still crying, and handed him to his mother. Heidi held him, and to her it felt good. "For a split second, I thought I'd never be able to hold my baby again," she said tearfully. "I ran up to my mom and I was crying, because I was so glad Matt was okay," remembered Andrea, who had been watching the whole time. "When it was over, I picked up my mail and satchel and started going back to work again; I started thinking what I'd just done," said Alex. He started shaking and shivering because it happened quickly and he didn't have time to be scared, so he got scared after it happened and not during. Five years have passed. For Heidi, her husband, Genaro, and their children, that day is still a vivid memory. "I've learned that there are people who aren't afraid to risk their own life to save another and that you never under no circumstances ever leave your children unsupervised in a car," said Heidi. "I still see it happening in my head, I see Alex running across the street, and he saved my brother's life," says Andrea. At 10, she is proud of that and appreciates it a lot. She explains that if Alex hadn't done what he did, Matthew wouldn't be around. "I love kids, I always have, I've got two new kids of my own, and I like Matthew. He's got his whole lot life ahead of him," says Alex. Matthew, now 7, says, "Alex came, grabbed onto the handle, stopped the car, put it into park, and took me to my mom. He's a hero because he saved my life." "When I see Alex and Matthew together, there is a bond between them. I feel it, Matthew feels it, and I hope Alex feels it," concludes Heidi. Category:1985 Category:California Category:Holiday Category:Christmas Category:Runaway Vehicles